Over in London, England, the most iconic landmark is getting renovated. The Elizabeth Tower, or more famously called Big Ben (which is technically the bell inside the tower), is going to fall silent for four years while the renovation happens. The project started in the summer of 2017 and is projected to be finished in 2021. This is the longest pause in Big Ben’s history and the only time the clocktower will ring is for special occasions such as New Years and Remembrance Sunday. However, Big Ben not ringing is not the biggest concern for England, but the budget is.
Budget Problem
In the spring of 2016, the estimated budget for the clocktower was £29m but additional costs emerged after the project started and it has risen to £61m. The authorities have stated that due to the rise of the budget there won’t be a delay in the repair work. They also stated that they had transferred the cost of fire safety work from another project to the restoration of the tower.
The reason the budget more than doubled was that the project ended up being more complex and extensive than what was originally thought to be. Big Ben needed more detailed and technical work because it is an old historic site. It is said that the initial estimate was set at a lower level to avoid cost escalation from the market but after the new estimate they believe that this budget reflects the true cost of the project.
Big Ben’s Plan
While Big Ben has remained in place throughout the project, components from the clock have been hoisted down to the ground to protect them from damage. All the cogs and wheels have been taken care of by clockmakers and the North Dial has been re-glazed, repainted, and re-glided. Also, 324 individual pieces of glass are being installed into the dial frame by stained-glass artists. 3,433-piece cast iron roof is being reinstalled after it was removed and restored, and the carved stonework (which includes angels, lettering, and symbolic creatures) was noticeably cleaned. Other parts of the Tower are also being taking apart and cleaned.
With this huge budget increase, this shows that England fell for some estimating pitfalls for the renovation. I believe that there was a misinterpretation of the statement of work and how much actual human work needs to be done to complete the project. Also, there was an inaccurate work breakdown structure because the construction firm did not use good data and extensive surveys to see the true likelihood of the costs. With this huge budget increase, there is a possibility that the construction firm did poorly define or have an overly optimistic schedule for the renovation anyway the authorities do state that the project is still set to finish in 2021.
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